Apparatus for straightening wires and rods



Sept. 5, 1939. A. F. J. WRIGHT 2,172,134

l APPARATUS FOR STRAIGHTENNG WIRES AND RODS Filed May 22, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 MM w Sept. 5, 1939.

A. F. J. WRIGHT APPARATUS FOR STRAIGHTENNG WIRES AND RODS Filed May 22, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ill Patented Sept. 5, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

APPARATUS FOR STRAIGHTENING WIRES AND RODS Albert Frederick James Wright, Walthamstow, London, England Application May 22, 1937, Serial No. 144,268 In Great Britain July 6, 1936 13 Claims.

This invention relates to wire and rod straightening devices of the type of that set forth in the specification and drawings of our British Patent No. 411,020. In this type of straightener, the wire or rod is caused to Apass through a number of dies arranged in a rotated cage, the axes of successive dies being'displaced one to one side and the next to the opposite side of the axis of rotation of the cage. In order that the wire or rod may be fed automatically through the device, the dies are also tilted out of planes at right angles to the axis of rotation, successive dies being tilted in alternate senses.

With such a device, the rate at which straightened material is delivered depends upon the angle of tilt given to the dies and this angle can be adjusted according to needs. Where, however, it is desired to deliver very accurate lengths of straightened material, some difficulty is experienced in making the vrequired adjustment and, in `order that short lengths shall not be delivered, the dies are generally adjusted so as to deliver lengths somewhat greater than those desired, the feed of material from the straightener being arrested at predetermined times by means such as a chuck or the like so that the straightening dies rotate idly about the material for a short period. This idle rotation may cause the material to be damaged as it leads to-local heating and chaiing of the material and sometimes results in breakage of the wire or rod.

The object of the invention is to remove this disadvantage and in accordance with the invention, means are provided which are automatically operated to control the rotation of the device and thereby the intermittent delivery of variable lengths of straightened material.

In the preferred form of the invention, the cage is mounted so as to be capable of axial movement so that when the material issuing from it is gripped, the cage moves backwards tol an extent determined by a stop which, when encountered, causes a friction clutch toV be opened and the rotation of the Acage to be stopped.

In order that the-invention may be properly understood and be more readily carried into effect, an example of construction in accordance therewith will lnow be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is an elevation of a straightening device in accordance with the invention in the operative position.

Figure 2 is a similar View showing the straightener in the inoperative position;

Figure 3 is an end elevation of the device shown in Figures 1 and 2.

The straightener comprises a rotary cage I in which are mounted a number of dies 2. These dies are set with their axes alternately to one side 5 and to the other of the axis of rotation of the cage I and they are also set so that the faces of successive dies make opposite angles with the planes intersected at right angles by the axis of rotation. This disposition of the dies causes 10 the wire or rod passed through the device to be straightened and to be automatically fed, through the device. The rate of feed depends upon the angle of inclination of the dies. This angle can be'adjusted by means of a pair of rods, 15 one of which is shown at 3. The cage is mounted to rotate in a cradle 4 which is mounted to slide on a pair of rods 5 fixed to the frame 6 and it is rotated by means of the belt I and pulley 8 through the clutch 9. The wire to be straight- 20 ened passes from a coil Ill through the dies 2 and to a machine where it is subjected tosuch y operations as turning, screw-threading, cutting off and so on. A gripping device is shown diagrammatically at II and this can be taken to 25 represent 'the above mentioned machine. If the -Y wire is held by the gripping device II while the cage is rotated, it cannot be fed to the right by the straightener and, therefore,fthe cradle 4 will move towards the left. This movement to- 30 wards the left continues until the stop I2 comes up against the stop I3. The stop I2 is formed at the lower end of a lever I4 pivoted to the cradle at I5 while the stop I3 is formed on the frame 6. The lever I4 is connected to the left 35 han-d end of the cradle 4 by means of a tension spring I6 which normally holds the clutch 9 in engagement. When the stop I2 abuts against the stop I3, the cage continues to move towards the left as does the pivot I5 of the lever 40 I 4, but as the lever I4 is held at its lower end by the stop I3, the pulley 8 is prevented from following upthe movement of the cage and the clutch 9 is, therefore, disengaged. The stop I2 can be set relatively to the stop I3l so that the 45 clutch 9 is disengaged when the cage has moved to the left through any desired distance, that is to say, when the straightener has operated to straighten out a predetermined length of wire. When this length of wire has been straightened, 50 the rotation of the cage stops and the dies do not rotate about the wire uselessly and heat it and impair it in any way. When the desired finishing operationon the wire is completed, the gripping device II is opened and thecradle 4 is W55 moved positively towards the right, for example, by cam means shown in the drawings and consisting of a drum i8 having a cam groove i9 formed therein, and a lever 20 pivoted at 20a and having a pin 2l engaging the cam groove I9. At appropriate times during the operation, rotation of the cam I8 causes the lever 20 to swing in a clockwise Adirection and thereby move the cradle 4 to the right. The rst eiect of this is that the clutch 9 is closed so that the cage starts to rotate again, and as the cradle Il is shifted to the right, it carries the wire with it and feeds the wire through gripping device Il. When the required amount of material has been fed through the gripping device Il, the latter is again closed and the cradle again moves backwards and the cycle of operations described above is repeated.

The clutch 9 can be of extremely simple construction. As shown in the drawings, it consists of a ring of rubber or leather which is fixed to the end face of the cage I. The left hand face of the pulley 8 has an annular surface which is brought into and out of engagement with this ring in the manner described above. A friction clutch is, of course, desirable so that there are no shocks due to sudden engagement of the clutch.

The device can be set for delivering accurate and very varied lengths of material. Where the operations to be performed on the straightened lengths are of very short duration, the disengagement of the clutch may be almost momentary so that the cage does not even stop rotating at all but is merely slowed down.l On the other hand, Where the finishing operations are of fairly long duration, the clutch 9 may remain disengaged for quite an appreciable period of time.

The device is most suitable as an attachment to automatic screw making and like machines and particularly to machines of the type of that described in our U. S. Patent No. 1,997,353. It could, however, also be used in conjunction with a more simple kind of machine such as a shearing machine which is used to cut off predetermined lengths of straightened wire. It is also to be noted that the device in accordance with the invention can be used for the straightening of wires and rods of metal, of fibrous materials and of synthetic materials such as ebonite.

These wires or rods need not necessarily be of circular cross section, and it is also to be understood that the term wire used in the following claims does not imply any restriction as to the diameter or size of the material.

I claim:

l. A wire straightener comprising a support mounted for rotation and for translation, driving means for rotating said support during its translation, a plurality of straightening and feeding dies mounted for rotation with said support and embodying means for causing translation of said support along said wire and means for automatically disconnecting said driving means from said support when said support has been translated through a predetermined distance.

2. A wire straightener comprising a plurality of rotary straightening dies set with their axes offset from and tilted relatively to their axis of rotation for producing movement of said dies along the wire to be straightened, means for rotating said dies and causing said movement along the wire, and means for stopping the rotation of said dies at the conclusion of a movement along the wire of a predetermined extent.

Ymounted in said cage and arranged to engage said wire to straighten the same and to produce relative movement between said cage and said wire, driving means for rotating said cage, means for holding said wire against movement, a support for said cage mounted for sliding movement and means for arresting the sliding movement of said support in one direction and thereby rendering said cage driving means ineffective.

5. A wire straightener comprising a rotary cage, a plurality of wire feeding and straightening dies mounted in said cage and arranged to engage said wire to straighten the same and to produce relative movement between said cage and said wire, driving means for rotating said cage, means for holding said wire against movement, a support for said cage mounted forV sliding movement, means for arresting the sliding movement of said support in one direction and thereby rendering said cage driving means ineffective and means for positively moving said support in the other direction.

6. A wire straightener comprising a plurality of straightening dies mounted to rotate about a common axis and having their axes offset from and tilted relatively to their axes of rotation so that rotation of said dies causes relative movement between said dies and said wire, a support for said dies mounted for movement parallel to the axis of rotation of said dies, driving means for rotating said dies, a clutch between said dies and said driving means, resilient means urging said clutch into the closed position, adjustable means for limiting the movement of said support in one direction and adapted in so doing to open said clutch.

7. A device for the intermittent delivery of predetermined lengths of straightened wire comprising a rotary cage, a plurality of dies mounted for rotation with said cage and with the axes .of their apertures set alternately to one side and to the other of the axis of rotation of said cage oppositely inclined thereto and arranged to produce relative movement between said cage and said wire, a support for said cage mounted to move parallel to said axis of rotation but held against rotation, driving means mounted on said support for rotating said cage, a clutch having oneof its co-operating parts on said driving means and the other on said cage, a spring urging said clutch into the driving position, means for opening said clutch at the end of a movement of a predetermined extent in one direction by said support and means for moving said support in the opposite direction.

8. A device for` the intermittent delivery of predetermined lengths of straightened wire comprising a rotary cage, a plurality of dies mounted in said cage for rotation therewith, means for offsetting the-axes of the apertures of said dies relatively to the axis of rotation of said cage, means for inclining the axes of the apertures of said dies relatively to the axis of rotation of said cage to produce relative movement of said cage with respect to said wire upon rotation of said cage, a support allowing movement of said cage parallel to its axis of rotation, means for rotating said cage, means for holding the wire stationary on the exit side from said dies, adjustable means for limiting the movement of said cage away from said gripping means and including means for arresting rotation of said cage, and means for'fmoving said cage towards said gripping device.

9. A wire straightening device comprising a rotatable member having means for engaging a wire to straighten the same and to produce relative movement between said rotatable element' and said wire, driving means for rotating said rotatable member thereby causing relative movement between said member and said wire, and -means controlled by the said relative movement for controlling said driving means.

10. A wire straightening device comprising a rotatable member having means forv engaging a Wire to straighten the same and to produce relative movement between said rotatable element and said wire, means for holding said Wire stationary, driving means for rotating said rotatable member thereby causing movement of said member along said wire, and means controlled by movement of said rotatable member along said wire for a predetermined distance to stop the .rotation of said member.

.11. A wire straightening device comprising, a base member, a movable carriage mounted on said base member, Wire straightening means mounted on said carriage and comprising rotatable means for engaging a wire and producing relative movement between said straightening means and said wire, means for holding said wire stationary, driving' means for rotating said straightening means and thereby causing movement of said carriage along said Wire, and means controlled by movement of said carriage to a predetermined position for rendering said driving means inoperative.

12. A wire straightener comprising a plurality of straightening dies for engaging a Wire, a ro,- tary support in which said dies are mounted to rotate about a common axis, said `support being mounted for movement parallel to the axis of rotation thereof, said dies being mounted in oiset and tilted relation to their axis of rotation and being so designed that they act upon the wire during rotation of said support to move said support along said wire, means carried by said support for rotating said dies, and means including an abutment to arrest the movement of said support and at the same time arrest the rotation of said dies.

13. A wire straightener comprising a plurality of straightening dies for engaging a wire, a rotary support in which said dies are mounted to rotate about a common axis, said support being mounted for movement parallel to the axis of rotation thereof, said dies being mounted in offset and tilted relation to their axis of rotation and being so designed that they act upon the wire during rotation of said support to move said support along said wire, driving means for rotating said support, a clutch between said sup port and said driving means., resilient means urging said clutch into the closed position and an abutment adapted to arrest said support at the conclusion of a movement of a predetermined extent and at the same time to open said clutch against the action of said resilient means.

ALBERT FREDERICK JAMES WRIGHT. 

